City Faces Renewed Pressure on Budget : Budget: Anticipated deficit has officials looking for expenses to trim. Hiring Sheriff’s Department for all law enforcement is one option.

There was little question that the recession gave the city of Long Beach a beating last year, but a report recently released by auditors reveals that the bruises are worse than expected: Even with tax increases and slashed services, the city spent $7 million more than it took in.

The shortfall in the fiscal year that ended June 30 was $1.8 million higher than the one recorded in 1990, the worst fiscal year in memory. And officials glumly predict that this year isn’t likely to be any better.

“Our revenues are not going to pick up. We are still in a recession, and we are going to have trouble again. It will probably be even tighter than last year,” said City Auditor Robert Fronke, who wrote the annual report released last week.

The financial predicament, many city officials say, could increase the pressure on city leaders to abolish the Long Beach Police Department and permanently hire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies to patrol the city.

Such a move would dismantle a 691-officer force and make Long Beach the largest city in the state without its own police department.

Under a year-old experimental program, sheriff’s deputies have been patrolling the northernmost parts of Long Beach at an annual cost of $213,000 per deputy, compared to $288,000 for every Long Beach police officer.

City leaders are closely watching whether the deputies could operate as cheaply if they were given the entire city to patrol, and whether they could provide better service than the local force, which has been criticized for reported slow response times and a poor track record for solving major crimes.

But some fear that city officials--with their backs to the fiscal wall--will decide to go with the sheriff’s deputies, not based on the quality of service but the price.

“This would mean more service at a cheaper price, and that will be very difficult to turn our backs on “ said Councilman Les Robbins, a sheriff’s sergeant and a supporter of a citywide sheriff’s contract. “Making the budget without this kind of savings is going to be mission impossible. This issue is going to be a real barn burner.”

Studies are under way to determine whether the sheriff could in fact patrol the city less expensively than the Long Beach Police Department. The initial figures are not expected until mid-December, when debate is bound to flare again.

City councilmen in favor of the plan have often said that the sheriff could save Long Beach “tens of millions” of dollars. Though critics call that a “wild estimate,” others see it as a potentially appealing chunk of money for a city that is shaving library hours to save a buck.

“For those who want to have the sheriff in town, this is an ideal brief moment to pursue that ambition,” City Councilman Wallace Edgerton said. “The rest of us should be careful to make our decisions based on ordinary times, not extraordinary times like this recession.”

Contracting out government operations has captivated public officials around the nation in recent years as public agencies struggle to reconcile shrinking budgets with increasing demands for service.

It is a highly controversial area because the services most easily contracted generally involve lower-paid minority workers who sweep city streets or wash the windows of municipal buildings. Critics argue that contractors can do the job for less because they exploit workers by paying low wages and providing little or no health and retirement benefits.

In the case of local policing, the job would go to the mammoth Los Angeles County, which proponents say is larger and, therefore, can provide police service more efficiently.

But those in favor of local law enforcement, including the police officers union and some city council members, doubt that the sheriff could do the job more cheaply.

“They use the same cars, they use the same salary structure. Where do they save the money?” Councilman Tom Clark asked.

The contract debate already has the council deeply divided. And until now, two of the sheriff’s strongest allies on the city council--Robbins and Warren Harwood--were prohibited from voting on the issue because they are both employed by the county.

But a new law effective Jan. 1 allows Robbins and Harwood to vote on contracts involving the county, a factor that might tip the scales in favor of sheriff’s patrols. Currently, it’s a dead heat on the council, with Robbins, Harwood and Doug Drummond leaning in favor of the plan; Clark, Ray Grabinski and Clarence Smith against it, and Edgerton, Evan Braude and Jeff Kellogg undecided.

Whether they hire the sheriff’s department or gut social services, city leaders will doubtlessly be faced again this year with balancing the budget while the recession maintains its grip.

Last year’s $7-million shortfall in the $267-million general operating fund for police, fire and other city services came despite an increase in utility taxes and city fees and a painful paring of social services. Officials relied on surpluses from previous fiscal years to cover the shortfall.

Inflation drove costs up 4%, revenue increased virtually not at all and local sales-tax income remained meager. At the same time, the city hired 14 more police officers and spent $5 million on sheriff’s deputies hired to assist a police department that did not have the manpower to do the job.

Faced with the same gloomy picture this year, City Manager James Hankla has directed department heads to spend just 95% of what they have been allotted in order to avoid beginning next year in the hole, city officials said.

And city councilmen are already looking for ways to avoid hiring freezes, layoffs, further cuts in social programs and unpopular tax hikes.

“This will be the toughest budget I can remember,” Drummond said.